title: Visual functions in amblyopia as determinants of response to treatment.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the visual functions in amblyopia as determinants of response to treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-nine patients with unilateral and bilateral amblyopia (114 amblyopic eyes) 3 to 15 years old (mean age: 8.80 ± 2.9 years), 40 males (58%) and 29 females (42%), were included in this study. All patients were treated by conventional occlusion 6 hours per day for mild to moderate amblyopia (visual acuity 0.70 or better) and full-time for 4 weeks followed by 6 hours per day for severe amblyopia (visual acuity 0.8 or worse). During occlusion, near activities requiring hand-eye coordination were advised. The follow-up examination was done at 3 and 6 months. Improvement in visual acuity was evaluated on the logMAR chart and correlated with the visual functions. Statistical analysis was done using Wilcoxon rank sum test (Mann-Whitney U test) and Kruskal-Wallis analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a statistically significant association of poor contrast sensitivity with the grade of amblyopia (P < .001). The grade of amblyopia (P < .01), accommodation (P < .01), stereopsis (P = .01), and mesopic visual acuity (P < .03) were found to have a correlation with response to amblyopia therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The grade of amblyopia (initial visual acuity) and accommodation are strong determinants of response to amblyopia therapy, whereas stereopsis and mesopic visual acuity have some value as determinants.
authors.forename: Vinita
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Siddharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Agrawal
mesh_terms: D000065:Accommodation, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000550:Amblyopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology*; D003867:Depth Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055255:Mesopic Vision / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012683:Sensory Deprivation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*